ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Central skull-base osteomyelitis (CSBO) represents a life-threatening complication of external ear canal infection. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) play key roles in assessment of CSBO progression. METHODS: Twelve patients with CSBO were included in a retrospective clinical study. In total, 62 scans (30 CTs and 32 MRIs) were performed to evaluate the extent of inflammatory changes. The scans were read independently by two radiologists specialised in imaging of the head and neck. The regions under the skull base were specified using the online Anatomy Atlas of the skull base. To clarify the timeline, the time period was divided into four parts, and inflammatory changes in the skull-base regions were tracked. Data were statistically analysed. RESULTS: In early stages of the disease, CT scan detects inflammatory changes closely related to the stylomastoid foramen and medially to the posterior belly of the digastric muscle, changes which have been proved to be crucial for the diagnosis of CSBO. Later the infection spreads to the contralateral side causing demineralisation of the bones. CONCLUSION: Imaging methods play a crucial role not only in establishing the diagnosis, but also in anticipating the direction of infection spread underneath the skull base.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Infections/diagnostic imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Osteomyelitis/diagnostic imaging , Skull Base/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Bacteria/isolation & purification , Disease Progression , Female , Humans , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted , Male , Osteomyelitis/microbiology , Regression Analysis , Retrospective Studies , Sensitivity and Specificity , Skull Base/microbiology , Temporal Bone/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
The presentation describes an interesting finding of healed multiple war cutting wounds in adult male skull. The examined dry skull belong to the extensive osteologic collection which comes from the abolished "Broumov Ossuary". The set encompasses skeletal remains of the population from the 13th to 18th centuries.
